Use SEO to bump your website up Google's rankings

In today’s digital world, everyone from the first-time home buyer, seasoned seller, student renter and experienced landlord is searching, selling, buying and renting properties online. Not only that, but they’re looking for agents to help them on their journey. To build your online presence and prompt more leads, you need to optimise your website so it appears higher in search results. In other words, you need a dose of SEO.

SEO, or search engine optimisation, has a shroud of mysticism around it, not helped by the fact that it’s constantly in flux. But we’re here to lift that cloak and dagger so you can understand how to utilise SEO for your agency’s benefit.

Essentially, SEO is about improving your website and online presence to increase its visibility in organic search. Here at Boomin, we like to use ‘SEO’ and ‘organic search’ interchangeably, with ‘organic search’ having a direct emphasis on natural and free online growth.

You don’t have to be an SEO whizz to increase conversions and target quality leads. There are, however, a few basic SEO terms you should become familiar with.

Every agent wants to appear at the top of the Google search page. But you can’t just grease the palm of a Google techie and jump to the front of the queue. No, SEO is a waiting game, testing your patience more so than the latest iOS systems update. In order to rank highly on Google (i.e., appear on page 1 of the SERPs), you need to put in the work. But fear not, we sat down with our own SEO mogul, Alfred Eccles, to understand more about how agents can harness the power of SEO.

When searching for SEO keywords, make sure they align with your page’s content. Choose your keywords based on what your target audience is searching for – rather than what has the largest search volume.

Start by conducting keyword research with online tools such as?Google AdWords Keyword Planner,?Google Trends,?SEMRush?and?Searchmetrics,?selecting a mix of short-tail keywords (2-3 words) and long-tail keywords (a string of words or a phrase). Selecting and using relevant keywords throughout your website and marketing strategy helps to generate leads. Once you have your selected keywords, work them into your content – page title, URL, article title (H1), meta description, image alt-text and body content.

A new agent or agency starts out in the biz by building out a network in the local area. The same is true when starting SEO. Avoid diving in and competing with every agent out there. Instead, help people find your agency when they search for long-tail keywords specific to your area, for example, “2 bed flat in Birmingham” or “What’s it like to live in Windermere?”. These long-tail keywords are descriptive phrases that, although may have a lower search volume than shorter phrases, are inducive to voice search that is becoming more popular today. Optimise your website content, digital platforms and social media profiles to include these key phrases.

Relevancy is also key here. Ranking highly for your local branch town is easier with a local address – so ensure to input your office address into Google My Business.

Optimising your listings is important if you want to appear in SERPs within your target market, which will help you attract buyers and sellers.

It’s not news that more people are using smartphones and tablets to get a house valuation, research agents and browse homes to buy. While your website should be mobile-friendly already, be sure to?test this across different screen sizes and devices. Time spent on a page directly impacts SEO for Estate Agents, and you want to be sure that your website provides a smooth user experience, no matter the device used.

An internal link is a link that points to another page on your website. An external link takes the user to a third party’s page. Both types of links are useful (and important) when building out your SEO content.

Alfred reminds us to keep in mind that the best backlines are “natural votes from third-parties who find your content useful.” He warns against paying your way to the top – Google?will?find out.

The adage “Content is king” rings true. Users and search engines “read” content, and relevance is essential in the eyes of pleasing both tech bots and home buyers. Alfred advises agents to aim for “unique, engaging content that supports their brand and unique selling points. A high-quality piece can naturally gain excellent organic coverage, increase social media mentions and attract high-quality backlinks to the content in question.”

There is so much that agents can share in the space, from reviews and testimonials, industry updates, news stories and more. The only catch? To get these articles to rank highly, they have to be of high quality, 100% original, relevant and should utilise your chosen keywords (naturally). Did we mention high quality? No spam, please.

There are many key elements to making sure a page ranks highly within Google. The page structure, title tags, H1, meta description and volume of content and keywords are just some of the top variables. Keep in mind that the Google algorithms change frequently, so it’s essential to stay in the know about the latest updates so you can adapt accordingly. Also note that Google doesn’t give out the answers; it can be a case of trial and error.